House - 18th/19th century

The National Monuments Service's description

On the outskirts of Clonmel, N of the Clonmel-Waterford road (in junction of Silver Spring Rd. and St. Patrick's Rd.). Built in 1748 as a Charter School, on lands rented from Sir Charles Moore of Powerstown but may have been designed earlier (Shee and Watson 1975, 40; McParland, 2001, 171, 174). Richard Pococke, in his tour of Ireland in 1752, describes the school as 'a very neat well regulated Charter School, for 20 boys & 20 girls, founded on a legacy left by Mr. Dawson' (McVeagh 1995, 103). The school was closed in 1823 and in 1834 it was leased to Charles Biancioni, who renamed it Silver Spring (Shee and Watson 1975, 40). Nine bay, two storey house, with two-bay projecting ends. Round-headed doorcase with niche above at first-floor level. Windows have sandstone surrounds. Hipped, steep-pitched roof, slightly sprocketed. According to Craig and Garner (1975, 99-100) the 'interior has a long passage along the front and a vaulted passage opposite the front door, which goes through to the rere. The chimney-breasts are massive on the ground floor, but taper by stages to become quite small stacks at roof level. The internal walls are only stud partitions...so that the stacks stand independent of any heavy supporting walls...The rere is very plain with narrow windows in pairs'. The form and style of this building harks back to the 17th century (ibid.). A group of detached buildings to the rere were formerly used as stables.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 26 August 2011

References

Shee, E. and Watson, S. J. 1975 Clonmel: an architectural guide. Dublin. An Taisce.

McParland, E. 2001 Public architecture in Ireland 1680-1860. New Haven and London. Yale University Press.

McVeagh, J. (ed.) 1995 Richard Pococke's Irish Tours. Dublin and Portland. Irish Academic Press.

Craig, M. and Garner, W. 1975 National heritage inventory of buildings of architectural, historic and artistic interest in County Tipperary - South Riding. A preliminary survey. An Foras Forbartha Teoranta. Unpublished.